A kiss for cabbages
by seda di
Summary: A look into the growing attachment between Gareth the Younger and Lady Cythera.


Disclaimer: i own nothing sobs

Please CC this as it is my first fan fic and i know i need to improve on A LOT of things. Also please point out any punctutation errors and spelling mistakes as i tend to be very bad on that side too.

A kiss for cabbages

Lady Cythera smiled feeling, not for the first time, a little out of her depth. She toyed absentmindedly with her glass bracelet trying very hard not to seem bored with little success.  
Lady Cythera needn't have bothered trying to conceal her boredom as her companion, Gareth the younger was completely absorbed in his one man debate and probably wouldn't have noticed if she had stood up and left the courtyard alltogether.   
He was passionatly discussing (with himself) the merits of a cetain quote he had read recently from a scholar with a dubious reputation for making things up.   
Half way through his personal monologue Gary, in a rare moment of observation, did notice that his companion seemed a little confused and out of spirits.   
Unfortunately for Lady Cythera, Gary interpreted her bordom and confusion as the result of not actually knowing the quote that he was discussing and so for the benifit of his lovely companion he proceeded to recite the whole passage from memory so that she would understand more of the conversation.  
Lady Cythera groaned inwardly as she realised that Gary was going to recite something. Though the capacity of Gary's memory was indeed a remarkable thing, after listening to endless recitations and quotations she had to admit that his gift for memorising annoyed rather than impressed. She nodded along helplessly trying to follow the boring quotation until finally after waiting patiently for ten minutes she allowed her restless mind wander off.

Some time later after Lady Cythera had dragged her consciousness back to her companion's voice she realised with horror that the quotation was still going on.  
'This has to be a record,' she thought, beginning to be irritated and trying to keep herself from drumming her fingers on the table in frustration, 'is he trying to recite the whole book?'   
Almost bored into unconciouness she watched his mouth move up and down with absolutely no idea as to what he was talking about. A couple minutes of mindlessly watching his lips she came to the conclusion that Gary had not even once stopped moving his mouth. 'He's not even pausing for breath,' she thought in a kind of dull amazement. Lady Cythera was just starting to plan a subtle or if need be an unsubtle way of escape when Gary finally finished and to her horror asked for her opinion.

Lady Cythera stared blankly at him, coming up with an infuriating blank memory as to what the quote was about. Awkward she fell back on her old trick that she used when she didn't know what to say.

'Wonderful,' she whispered and kissed him gently on the cheek. Gary, though pleased with the kiss, looked back at his female companion with some confusion. 'I didn't know that the problems of farming conditions for cabbages stirred such a passion in you, my lady' he said with a grin.

Lady Cythera was just about to smile back when she did a double take. Cabbages. And then her traitorous memory returned. Yes the conversation had been about food, because she had remarked politely how delicious the feast had been. And, being Gary, he thought she'd enjoy hearing _exactly _how it was made and _all _of the problems to do with the conditions it had to be grown in and that had lead to the stupid scholar who had an stupid tendency to create certain facts and statistics on the topic.

All that time, she thought exasperated, he had been talking to her about irrigation and crop feeds of the southern kingdoms and, Oh Goddess, she had kissed him in reply whispering that it was all so wonderful. She had kissed him for a stupid and boring quote on cabbages! She closed her eyes feeling like an utter fool. She knew her cheeks were going a horrible shade of red as they always did when she was embarrassed. She looked down at her hands and was so preoccupied with wishing that the whole floor would open up and swallow her or preferably Gary, that it took her quite a long time to notice that Gary had started to talk, again.

'……and if you wish I could find some books that I'm sure would satisfy your hunger for the subject.'

Lady Cythera immediately forgot her embarrassment at the mention of books. Gary had tried to lend her books before and it had always ended with her spending all day reading just so she could keep up with him in a conversation. She frantically refused, protesting that he should not waste the time as she could research the subject herself.

Gary seeing his beautiful companion in such a state couldn't resist pushing further. 'Nonsense my lady,' he waved her protests away breezily. 'It would be my honour to help a fellow scholar. I'll get some books from the main library and have a boy send them over tonight and the next time we meet I will be looking forward to a lively conversation on the topic.'

At this he got up, and after bowing seriously left with a huge grin forming on his face. Cythera when she was sure he was out of earshot groaned in a very unladylike manner. Not feeling up to going back into the ball, she left through the royal gardens cursing Gary and his stupid quotes all the way.

'Cabbages!' she muttered furiously to herself. 'We sit in the most romantic spot in the palace looking up at the stars and the moon and all that time he was talking he was telling me about cabbages! Any normal man would say something romantic or at least interesting. But no not Gary, I can't believe I kissed him. For that!'

At this Lady Cythera kicked a pebble violently. It soared through the air and with an accuracy that any man would have been proud of, knocked the head off of one of the flowers in the Queen's rose gardens. Lady Cythera realising that ladies were not meant to sulk around in the Queen's private gardens and destroy her roses, paused and tried to calm herself. She had almost succeeded when the grinning face of Gary and the promise of a dozen books loomed in her mind, shattering her fragile calm. She strode through the gardens scuffing her shoes, a thing she had not done since she was a sulky child of ten.

'Who talks to a Lady about farming at a feast?' she fumed. 'I mean, who does that? Gary is meant to be one of the most charming and eloquent men at court. He is constantly flirting with the other ladies and keeping them entertained! Why is it me he chooses to bore to death and torture with books? Now I'm going to have to read all the books he sends or look like an idiot at our next meeting because I _still _won't know what he's talking about. Cabbages! Mithros protect me from that man!'

About an hour later of pacing there was the dreaded knock on the door. Cythera got up her heart sinking. She could already picture the scene on the other side of the door perfectly. A messenger boy staggering under a pile of thick and dusty tomes smelling of mildew and damp from constant storage, and of course a gloating note from Gary placed on top of them all, like icing on a cake.

However when the door reluctantly opened Cythera saw that her picture was decidedly wrong. There was indeed the boy and the note but the awful thick tomes were replaced with one book. It was not old and dusty at all, but beautiful with black leather binding and gold leaf on the spine. She took the book first, wanting to wait as long as possible before opening Gary's letter of triumph.

The book was heavier than expected and when she opened it she was amazed. It was not a book about cabbages at all but a book on art over the last century showing and analysing the paintings of the very painter she had been studying at university before her mother had pulled her out to come to court. 'How did he know?' she whispered, her eyes sparkling with delight.

She poured over the book studying the pictures and commentary intensely, the pictures were not only beautiful but drawn with precision and accuracy so that the image was as close a copy to the original as possible. The commentary was shrewd and sensible going through each painting thoroughly studying the minutest detail for possible meaning. She concluded grinning widely that this was not just a gift book for bored maidens but a proper art book for a true scholar. She stood engrossed in the book for a full five minutes before a discreet cough alerted her to the still waiting messenger boy and the unread note.

Cythera looked up and coming out of her trance apologised to the boy for keeping him waiting and took the note from his hands.

Dear Lady Cythera,

I thought that this book would be more to your liking.

I'll worry about the problems with cabbages.

Forever at your service

Gary

Lady Cythera after considering the note for a long time looked up at the boy, 'Could you please give the book back to Sir Gareth the younger'

'Back my lady' the boy said doubtfully 'I think it was….'.

'Yes _back,_ please,' she interrupted calmly, and added smiling, 'with this message'.

'Well?' Gary demanded anxiously at the boy. The boy shifted his feet uncomfortably and gave the black book back.

Gary's face fell, 'she didn't want it?' he asked quietly.

'No sir, she asked me to tell you that she would like to worry about the cabbages with you if you'll worry about art with her and when she next meets you, she said she hopes for two lively conversations.' The boy looked confused by the message and even more confused by the huge grin on Gary's face.

'Tell me,' Gary asked 'did she like the book?'

'I think so sir. She read it at the door for a full ten minutes before she remembered I was there,'

'But,' said Gary looking through the book, 'where's the note? Shouldn't it have been sent back with the gift?'

'Yes sir that's the usual etiquette for a refusal of a gift. But when I asked she said she wanted to keep it.' He said shrugging.

Gary smile grew even larger and he tipped the boy and closed the door. He cleared a space at his overflowing desk and put the beautiful black book down on it. He had a lot of reading to do.


End file.
